Third Party Chargers Can Potentially Damage iPhones

A high sale of Apple phones is giving business to companies that are manufacturing accessories related to the phone. Some of these companies manufacture accessories that do not comply with the product specifications but perform the basic task. Recently a repair firm mendmyi reported an issue where it suspected unofficial USB adapters and USB-to-Lightning cables being the main reasons for iPhone 5’s battery issue. They witnessed quite a number of phones with battery problems recently.

According to their study, the local manufacturer’s battery charging accessories do not properly regulate the electrical current flowing into the handset. This either burns or renders inoperable power distribution to IC labeled “U2.” The IC is located under Apple’s A6 SoC on the iPhone’s logic board. U2 routes the incoming power to the battery and integrated charging controller, and the power button. It also controls other USB functions.

U2 circled above

The common indications of this issue are iPhone’s battery level remaining at one percent while charging, sudden shutdowns and partial or complete failure to switch on when connected to the charger. The issue may not be limited to iPhone 5. Low-cost, third-party products can potentially damage the circuitry of any iPhone model. They are unable to supply a certain value of electrical voltage and current to the phone and are not built to acceptable tolerance level. Recently Apple had recalled its 5-watt power adapters, which clearly shows that even one of the world’s best tech companies can run into problems while manufacturing power regulating accessories.

Also, after two recent issues in China — one where a woman died while using a iPhone as it was charging, and another where a man was allegedly electrocuted, both using non Apple chargers — Apple issued a warning to Chinese iPhone users asking them to use only official power adapters.